Chapter 12 Seeds of Dissent

Chapter 12 Seeds of Dissent
Kael's POV

"She's going to die, and you're just letting it happen."

Damon's words hit me like a punch to the gut. My beta stands across my desk, arms crossed, his face hard with judgment.

"It's her choice," I say, though the words taste like ash in my mouth.

"Is it?" He leans forward, pressing his hands flat on my desk. "Or did you make it impossible for her to choose anything else? You let her fall in love with you, Kael. You let the bond grow strong. Now she can't leave even if she wanted to."

He's right. I know he's right. But what was I supposed to do? Push her away harder? Tell her the truth sooner? Would any of that have changed the outcome?

"I tried to warn her," I say weakly.

"Not hard enough." Damon straightens up, shaking his head. "The council meets in an hour. They're going to demand you send her away."

"Let them demand." My wolf snarls inside me at the thought of anyone trying to take Clara from me. "I won't do it."

"Then you're a fool." Damon heads for the door, then pauses. "Catherine was my sister, Kael. I watched you break her heart trying to save her life. She died anyway. Don't make the same mistake twice."

After he leaves, I sit in the silence of my study and let guilt eat at me.

Catherine. Sweet, brave Catherine who loved me despite knowing what the bond would do to her. I pushed her away for weeks, trying to break the connection before it killed her. All I did was make her last days filled with pain and rejection.

She died thinking I didn't want her.

Maria and Jessica came after, and I tried different approaches. Kept Maria close, hoping love might somehow break the curse. It didn't. Jessica I tried to cure with every healer and witch I could find. Nothing worked.

Now Clara. Clara who knows the truth and stays anyway. Who looks at me with those eyes and says she's choosing this.

But am I letting her choose? Or am I just being selfish again, taking what I want while she slowly dies?

★★★

The council chamber is full when I arrive. All five elders sit in their high-backed chairs. Damon stands to the side, his face carefully blank. Helena and a dozen other senior pack members line the walls.

This isn't just a council meeting. It's a trial.

"Alpha." Elder Thorne's voice carries the weight of centuries. "We need to discuss the human."

"Her name is Clara."

"The human," he repeats firmly, "is a danger to this pack. Her presence divides us. Her bond with you makes you weak. And according to our sources, she's dying."

I keep my face neutral. "Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?" Elder Samuel waves his hand dismissively. "The prophecy is clear. She'll waste away just like the others. And while you're distracted watching her die, our enemies grow stronger."

"Marcus Bloodfang has been testing our borders," Helena adds. "Three times this week, his wolves have crossed into our territory. They're looking for weakness, Kael. And they're finding it."

"We are not weak," I growl.

"Aren't we?" Thorne stands, and the room goes quiet. "You've barely attended pack business in days. You spend your time locked in your study researching impossible cures. Meanwhile, the pack suffers from lack of leadership."

"I'm still Alpha…"

"Are you?" His words cut through mine. "Because right now, you look like a lovesick boy chasing a dream that will destroy you. That will destroy all of us."

The room erupts in murmurs. Some agree with Thorne. Others look uncomfortable but don't speak up.

"What do you want me to do?" I ask quietly. "Push her away? Send her back to the human world where Marcus's wolves will hunt her down?"

"Better she dies out there than drags us down with her," Samuel says coldly.

My wolf roars inside me, demanding I put the old man in his place. But I force myself to stay calm.

"If I reject her now, the bond will shatter," I explain slowly, like talking to children. "The trauma could kill her instantly. Or worse, drive her mad like it did Jessica. Is that what you want?"

"What I want is for you to think about the pack," Thorne says. "Two hundred wolves depend on your leadership. Your strength. Your focus. How many of them should suffer because you can't let go of one human woman?"

"She's not just…" I stop myself. They won't understand. Can't understand. "Pushing her away won't make her safer. It will make her vulnerable. Easy prey for our enemies."

"Then protect her from a distance," Helena suggests. "Send her back to her human life with guards. Let the bond fade naturally. It's kinder than watching her waste away here, hated by everyone around her."

"She's not hated by everyone."

"Name one pack member besides you who wants her here," Samuel challenges.

I open my mouth, then close it. He's right. Even the wolves who don't actively hate Clara see her as a problem. A complication. A weakness in their Alpha's armor.

"This discussion is pointless," I say finally. "Clara stays. End of conversation."

"Then you force our hand," Thorne says coldly. "The pack has the right to challenge an Alpha who puts personal desires above their welfare."

The threat hangs in the air like smoke. Challenge. It means a formal fight for leadership. It means bloodshed and possible death.

"You want to challenge me?" I look around the room. "Who here thinks they can take the Alpha position by force?"

No one meets my eyes.

"That's what I thought." I turn toward the door.

"Not now," Thorne calls after me. "But soon, Kael. Soon, the pack will demand you choose. And when that day comes, you'll have to decide what matters more… your mate or your people."

I leave without answering because I don't have an answer. Not one they'd want to hear.

Back in my room, I find Clara sitting on my bed, reading one of the curse-breaking books. She looks up when I enter, and her smile fades when she sees my face.

"What happened?"

"The council met. They want me to send you away."

She closes the book slowly. "And what did you say?"

"I said no." I sit beside her, suddenly exhausted. "But Clara, they're right about one thing. Your presence here is causing problems. Real problems."

"So what do we do?"

That's the question, isn't it? What do we do when the pack I've sworn to protect wants me to abandon the woman I love? When keeping her safe means tearing my people apart?

"We find a way to break the curse before it's too late," I say. "Before the pack splits. Before Marcus attacks. Before…"

"Before I die," she finishes softly.

"Yes."

She takes my hand, and the bond flares between us. Warm. Strong. Alive.

For now.

"Then we better work fast," she says.

I pull her close, breathing in her scent, memorizing the feel of her against me. Because Damon was right. The council was right.

I'm being selfish keeping her here.

But I can't let her go. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

And that selfishness might destroy everything I've built.

The pack. My leadership. Clara's life.

All of it, crumbling around me because I was too weak to do what needed to be done.

Some Alpha I turned out to be.